I’m a sucker for a thriller in an isolated setting and this was definitely that! I read this book very quickly and was so tense the whole time! It opened with a bang and then it slowed down for a buildup, then things really devolved quickly from there. There were some unexpected twists and reveals along the way, especially in the second half of the book. Overall I thought this was a really tension inducing ride which is what I look for in a thriller.

Fast paced story with a past mystery and a current one mixed together. Confusing with a large cast of characters and going back and forth on the timeline. But overall an enjoyable read.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten ARC review will be published on June 10, 2025

I really enjoyed this book. The beautiful cover caught my eye and brought me in.

Tessa, a true crime podcaster, finds herself on an island for a Bachelorette party after dealing with her own misfortunes. While there, she tried to solve a murder from years before.
I enjoyed the dual timeline and the fast pace.  The suspense in this thriller book rocketed me through the pages.  It was hard to hold on at times - a lot of characters with similar names had me flipping back and forth to get my timeliness right, but I loved the unfolding of the mystery.  At times, I was worried and fearful for the characters as the descriptions of the gruesome senses sucked me in.
I will admit that I was just as intrigued in Tessa's personal mystery that when it unraveled, it had me wishing to read more about it.

While I was able to predict the killer before it came to light, I wasn't able to guess the main reason why.  I also still wanted to continue reading to see how it all unfolded. 

Thank you, NetGalley and publisher, for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

The you, NetGalley for a digital copy of this book. The opinions expressed are my own and freely given.
Story told from two timeline. 2012 when 4 friends meet for their annual trip to Isle Blind. All 4 friends end up murdered.
In 2022 when 5 friends meet for a bachorlette party, also on Isle Blind at a new resort (not yet open). The owner is the sister of one of the girls from 2012. Then one of the bridesmaids body is found.
This is a very well written book and it kept me guessing who could be involved in the murders both in 2012 and 2022.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC!

Ten years ago, four childhood friends meet for one night at a remote island off the coast of Sweden. The next day they disappeared, presumed to have drowned. Now they are known as the Nacka Four and no one knows what truly happened.

Now, six friends gather on the same island for Annelise’s bachelorette party at a yoga retreat/wellness resort. Tessa is in attendance and more planned than just celebrating her friend. She wants to uncover the truth about what happened to the Naka Four and revive her career that is currently in ruins. The island will also consist of Irene, the owner, and Adam, the chef. When Annelise, Tessa, Caroline, Lena, Mikaela, and Natalie arrive on the island, they are asked to turn in their phones for a digital detox. What happens next is exactly what you would expect: secrets revealed, and chaos ensues.

Sten wrote a popcorn thriller that was fast-paced and entertaining. She easily intertwined the past with the present to create a gripping plot. I struggled to connect with the characters, but Sten still deserves credit for creating a cast of diverse characters and keeping me guessing. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming.

If you’re a fan of locked room mysteries, I recommend picking up a copy on June 10th!

This book was very tense! I was not expecting that plot twist AT all! And I was very happy with the ending!

In all seriousness though, this book was very rough on my anxiety to read at some times. But I still really enjoyed the book!

This was a quick fun popcorn read. I think the ending was a bit too long, but overall thought the story was easy to follow and is an entertaining beach read!

Thank You NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel.

The other reviews that I saw saying the book was Scream meets the Guest List were dead on. There were parts that were a little slow but the information was necessary. I really liked the way the author didn’t rush the end and tied everything up neatly. I wasn’t left with any unresolved questions or plot holes. The book was entertaining and I enjoyed reading it. It kept my attention for sure. I could see this becoming a series on a streaming service. I will definitely check out Camilla’s other books.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley.

I am a little disappointed in this thriller as it seems to be a little bit of a standard outline filled in. The perpetrators were obvious, and you were just waiting for the why the whole way through. There was no illusion to other suspects and no twist of who they turned out to be.

I'm really not sure the different perspectives were necessary after the beginning. The events that transpired 10 years before really let the book start off with bang. But when it switched to ten years later, I don't think the multiple perspectives and jumping of timelines were necessary.

Think it would be a good vacation or travel read, as it's steady paced and easy to follow. I had a hard time wanting to get through it, as it seemed not to have a lot of anxiousness while reading to find out the ending. However, the main plot fell short for me. The most twisty part was the main characters reason for her downfall from her podcast, not the resolution of the plot.

I'm not a true crime fan, but I found this a compelling thriller, or at least one that kept me reading. I felt for former podcaster Tessa, trying to find out what happened as a way of coping with her life collapsing, even if the epilogue doesn't deal with all her challenges (and gets a little too realistic with the medical elements). I found it difficult at times to keep all the women clear in my head, and the motives were a bit sparse.

I thought I read this before but I was just confusing it with Sandra Block’s The Bachelorette party. Just like the title, the premise is not anything original but I do have to say I enjoyed this more than Block’s version. Was it ridiculous? Of course. Did I read it in one sitting? Absolutely.

I am not sure what to think about this book.
The story had so much potential but I didn’t feel connected in any way.

I love thrillers with podcaster protagonists (though this one is technically a former podcaster). The beginning dragged more than I like, but once it picked up, it got deliciously creepy. Even though I figured out the killer pretty early, the atmosphere was still intense. I made the mistake of reading a big chunk of it after bedtime, in a dark room, which paralleled what was happening to Tessa in the book and creeped me out.

It isn't a perfect thriller, but if you’re in the mood for a chilling, slow-burn story that delivers real goosebumps, this will do it! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Four friends make it a yearly tradition to meet off the coast of a secluded Swedish island. That is— until their tradition abruptly ends after the group is murdered during one of their retreats. Fast forward ten years later and a new group of friends have descended upon the island for a relaxing bachelorette weekend. But danger lurks around every corner of the glistening beach, and the waves spill over with secrets of its own. You can run, but you can’t hide from a killer dead set on revenge.

If you’ve read THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley then you have basically already read this book. And while that was an enjoyable read for me, I couldn’t get into this particular story. The twist was glaringly obvious from the very beginning so it felt like the book was just dragging on unnecessarily. In fact, everything seemed to drag. No real action happens until about 60% of the way through. Honestly it was such a blah read. The characters, the reason for the “revenge” — all felt uninspired.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC! Expected publication date is June 10.

I enjoyed this book. This is a story of a group of girls disappearing from a small island. 10 years later another group of girls return but one is nervous there will be a repeat crime. This book was pretty interesting and enjoyable. The twist wasn’t super twisty but that’s okay!

(4.25/5 stars)
The Bachelorette is an exhilarating mix of suspense, dark secrets, and an edge-of-your-seat mystery that will keep you turning pages long into the night. Camilla Sten masterfully combines the intrigue of a true crime podcast with the unsettling atmosphere of a remote island getaway, creating a thriller that’s both unnervingly tense and wickedly enjoyable.

The setup is brilliant: four friends who mysteriously vanished years ago, and one woman obsessed with uncovering the truth behind their disappearance. Tessa is a compelling protagonist, driven by her podcasting fame and an unrelenting need to solve the case that’s haunted her for years. Her decision to attend her best friend’s bachelorette party on an eerily similar island where the tragedy unfolded brings a new layer of tension to the narrative.

The dual timelines—the flashbacks to the friends’ last days on the island and Tessa’s investigation in the present—add depth and mystery. They gradually unravel dark secrets while keeping you guessing who is responsible for the tragedy. The slow-burn tension is punctuated by sharp moments of horror and a constant sense that someone is watching and waiting.

What really sets The Bachelorette apart is the atmosphere—Sten’s writing envelops you in a cold, eerie world where trust is fragile, and everyone is hiding something. It’s a compelling mystery that never lets you rest on your laurels. My only quibble is that at times, the pacing slightly stalls, and some secondary characters felt a bit underdeveloped. However, the overall twists and revelations are satisfying, and the ending lands with a chilling punch.

If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers with a touch of revenge, dark friendships, and haunting settings, this one is a must-read. It’s a masterclass in suspense, and the pages practically turn themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is told in dual timelines. It starts out in 2012 when four friends went to an island in an archipelago off the coast of Sweden for a night of drinking and telling secrets. This isle was unknown to anyone but them. They disappeared and no one ever knew what happened to them. Flash forward ten years to 2022, Tessa Nilsson, our main character is a true crime podcaster but has never been able to figure out what happened to the missing girls ten years prior. Her best friend Anneliese is getting married, and they are having a bachelorette party on Isle Blind, the same isle as the disappearance of the four women ten years ago. There is someone on this isle intent on revenge. I really enjoyed this story and the island setting. It's a locked room mystery which are some of my favorite books.

"The Bachelorette Party" is an atmospheric locked-room thriller. Ten years ago, Tilly and her three friends disappeared while on their annual trip to a remote island. They had always kept the location a secret, and they were never found. Ten years later, Tessa, a disgraced true crime podcaster, travels to a small island for her best friend's bachelorette party. They stay at a resort owned by the sister of one of the victims. Tessa hopes to use the trip to investigate the missing women's disappearance and save her podcast.

This book was okay. The story is told from the POVs of Tessa in the present and Tilly in the past. I really liked the dual timelines and trying to guess how they were connected. I also liked the remote island setting and the mixed media format. The book started off a bit slow, but it got more interesting after they arrived on the island. There were so many characters, though, that it was kind of confusing and hard to connect with anyone. I started to get a little bored with the present day narrative and was more interested in what happened to Tilly and her friends in the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A creepy, isolated, trapped on an island triller at it's best. Told in dual timelines, a group of friends travel to a Swedish isle for a Bachelorette party and what they think will be a weekend of rest and rejuvenation. Ten years prior on the same island a group of friends travel for their annual girls weekend and go missing, presumably dead. Where it starts to get good is when Tessa, a disgraced true crime podcaster decides to go on the trip with an ulterior motive of trying to crack the missing persons case with the hopes of restoring her reputation.

That kicks off a chain of discoveries that culminates into a wild night on the island. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, there wasn't a ton of 'extra' information or side characters that try to distract you from the twist, which is one of my pet peeves in this genre. The author wove this one together tightly and it packed a punch at the end while also tying up the loose ends leaving a tidy and satisfying ending.

Pros:
Remote Island
Locked room mystery
Friendship drama
True Crime theme

Cons:
Somewhat predictable

This book reminded me of a previous thriller I've read (I cannot remember the title at the moment). Therefore, I found it quite predictable without much surprise for me. I still enjoyed reading it and I think if you haven't read a similar plot it will be more enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.